Semper Fi Reversed
by God'srider
Summary: What if Michael wasn't shot? How would Ziva react and will she see her mistakes? Spoilers for Semper Fi and possibly Legend 1&2.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS**

**Takes place during Semper Fi.**

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Snapping her cell phone shut, Ziva screeched to a halt in front of her apartment. Mossad would extract Michael and her team at NCIS would drop their suspicion and leave him alone, it was for the best.

Peering to her apartment window for her car, she saw two shadows instead of just Michael's that she had expected to see in the lamp light. The shadows of men were fighting roughly and viciously back and forth.

Rocketing out of her car and into the building, Ziva's heart pounded against her ribs. A sick knowing washed through her, Tony was fighting Michael, a trained Mossad agent in her apartment.

Of course, it had to be Tony because he had been the most suspicious and no one else would have confronted Michael yet. Anger at her partner built in her, Michael was doing nothing wrong and Tony just needed to back off.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Ziva rushed to her apartment hoping she made it before one of them was seriously hurt. At the end of her hall, she heard a gun shot ring through the air and her heart rate doubled. Gun drawn, she opened her door fearing what she'd see.

Michael was standing above Tony gripping his bleeding side, he dropped the gun and sank to his knees near the NCIS agent. Tony was gasping for air with blood seeping from his chest soaking his white shirt.

Frantically looking between the man who was supposedly her boyfriend, and her partner, Ziva made a decision. She took the final steps to Tony's side, her eyes wide. She had never seen him this way. Blood was dribbling from his mouth and his typical smirk had vanished.

She shouted at Rivkin, "Call an ambulance." Michael obeyed the distraught woman seeing the threat in her eyes. She put pressure on Tony's gunshot wound and looked at him. Pain shined in his eyes, but he tried to grin for her benefit. It immediately turned to a grimace and emotion flooded Ziva.

Fear crept in her mind and numbed her body, it would be her fault if Tony died. He was her partner and because she had refused to be completely honest with him, he was shot and bleeding out in her apartment.

A tear escaped slipping down her cheek as she tried to remain calm. With his waning strength, Tony wiped her tear away and gasped, "Don't cry…"he let his arm drop and took a ragged breath, "my little ninja."

Touched by Tony's sweetness, she whispered, "Shhh, Tony. You are going to be fine. Conserve your energy." Another tear slid from her eyes.

Paramedics swarmed into the room, replacing Ziva's place and tending to Michael. She shrunk back to the wall to watch and called Gibbs.

Gibbs gruff voice answered on the second ring, "Hello."

Trying to keep her voice steady, Ziva said, "Gibbs, Tony and Michael fought in my apartment. They are both going to the hospital. I need help."

"Be at your place in 10," Gibbs hung up abruptly gathering all the information he needed from Ziva's voice.

Michael was on a stretcher ready for transport and Ziva could no longer hold back. As they carried him by, she glared, "You pray Tony makes it."

The other paramedics began shouting pulling Ziva's attention back to her living room. They had lost Tony's pulse. Ziva felt her heart breaking as she watched the paramedics load him onto a gurney and carry him from the room working as they went.

Feeling lost as she was left alone in her upturned apartment, Ziva stood staring at the chaos images of the fight flashing through her imagination.

Gibbs stalked into the room with McGee following with the equipment and another agent. He glanced at the crime scene and then went over to Ziva. She cleared her throat, "Both in root to Bethesda. Michael will give us a statement as soon as he is checked.

He nodded and then motioned for her to follow him, "McGee will process this."

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two! Thanks for everyone's reviews, they are greatly appreciated!! Reviews help movitave and encourage me!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. I watched one before I wrote this though!**

**I hope you like this chapter!!!**

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Gibbs stood against the white hospital wall waiting patiently to get word from the doctor on how Tony was. Ziva paced up and down the hall glancing at the clock every other minute, "We have been here for nearly two hours and Michael has been out of surgery for one. What is taking them so long?"

Clearing his throat Gibbs nodded toward the approaching doctor. With a grim look the doctor started talking, "Tony is out of surgery. We were able to remove the bullet, but there were various complications. The bullet had barely missed his heart and bounced around once it was inside him, however, I cannot divulge details."

Glaring at the doctor, Gibbs prompted, "So…."

"Tony is being kept alive by machines. His breathing was almost non-existent and his heart dropped critically low. If he does not improve tonight, chances are Tony will fall into a deep coma and never be able to wake up from it," the doctor sighed and wiped a hand across his forehead, "I'm sorry. We did what we could and will continue to monitor him."

Ziva had raised her fist to cover her mouth trying to stifle the whimper that was building up in her. Gibbs acknowledged the doctor, "Thanks, Let us know if anything changes." After the doctor left he asked, "Will you be okay? I need to tell the others."

Nodding, Ziva watched Gibbs walk away. When he was a couple of feet away, she saw him lift his hand to his eyes to quickly wipe away the threatening tears. After a second of thought, Ziva stormed to Michael's room, "Tell me everything."

A glint of satisfaction flickered in Rifkin's eyes, "Agent DiNozzo is dead?"

Breathing deeply, she tried to calm herself, "No, not yet."

Michael shook his head in mock sympathy, "Ziva, you'd be better off without him anyway."

Ziva flattened her hand and hit Michael directly next to his freshly stitched wound, "Do not say that." Michael sucked a breath through his teeth at the pain searing into his side. Ziva calmly looked at him and repeated, "Tell me everything."

"He came over and we had some disagreements. I cannot remember who started the fight, but he is tougher than he appears and it took longer than I had planned for," Michael paused when Ziva stared at him.

Closing her eyes briefly she asked, "Longer than you planned for? You were planning to attack and possibly kill Tony before he came to my apartment."

Michael looked trapped, "It is a possibility that I had orders to plan for such an altercation. I did not expect him to figure out certain things as fast as he did."

"Who gave you the orders?" Ziva demanded.

"Which ones?" Michael started, "I had multiple and from different sources."

Realization hit Ziva, "Tony was right…"

Rivkin butted in, "In more ways than you think."

She continued, "You were using me under orders. He was also right in suspecting you were working for more than Mossad." Ziva called Gibbs, "Gibbs, Rivkin needs security around his room until we can escort him to Israel for punishment." She hung up the phone.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, Tony is a strong and smart man. At one point he pushed and we fell, I landed on your glass coffee table hence the gaping wound in my side. I realized that I needed to end things. We both got up slowly and he stepped toward me. I grabbed his arm twisting it until I felt the familiar give of the dislocation of a joint. I shoved him to the ground and pulled my back-up out." Remembering the fight scene, Michael finished, "Lucky for Tony, I was shaking from my wound so I missed his heart. Around that moment, you came in to take over."

Ziva had been staring in silent horror as he relayed the fight, "I am well aware of Tony's abilities and you should not have underestimated him." She drew in a breath and then her voice rose unable to control herself, "He was injured on the floor frozen with the pain burning in his shoulder and you shot him. He was defenseless."

Fisting her hands, Ziva added, "You are lucky I was a moment late."

Michael smiled smugly, "It would not have mattered. You and I are both Mossad with the same director giving us orders. Your loyalties should lay with Israel and therefore me."

Shaking with rage from the ideas Michael implied, Ziva responded, "Tony is my partner. I am supposed to have his back, but now because of me he is fighting for his life. I should not have trusted you and now Tony is paying for my lack of judgment."

Ziva fled from the room and motioned the waiting NCIS agent to take his position as guard. Trembling from adrenaline and anger at what she had heared, Ziva tried to process it all as she wondered the hospital halls.

Michael thought she would side with him no matter what simply because their loyalties had once been to one country and agency. He was mistaken, she loved both Israel and America. Her respect had been earned by the people she worked with.

Her heart clenched as she realized Michael had been near the truth. She had covered for him more than once rather than just tell Tony and the others the truth. He had deceived her and she had fallen for his plan. She had betrayed the agency by hoarding details on Michael.

But more heartbreaking to her than that was that she had betrayed her partner, who had trusted her and been there for her for close to four years. Now Tony was close to death and it was primarily her fault.

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**REVIEW!! Tell me what you think and let me know if you have any ideas!**

**NOte: I didn't let the doctor "divulge" any details because frankly I don't know anything about that stuff. I didn't want to speculate and make up more than I already did. Sorry!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I'm so horrible about updates. I will try to do better! **

**Here is another chapter! Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or this might have actually happened...**

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Blind from tears that filled her eyes, Ziva walked down the white halls of the hospital, her mind racing with everything she had learned. Rage at herself and fear for Tony bubbled in her, she spoke out loud to herself, "Tony, how could I be so stupid and blind?"

A passing nurse put a hand on Ziva's arm causing her to jump, "Excuse me, are you alright?"

Swiping tears from her face, Ziva answered, "I'm fine." Unable to say anything more, she swallowed.

"Did I hear you say Tony as in Anthony DiNozzo?" The young nurse asked and at Ziva's nod she continued, "They just brought him into a room. Would you like to see him?"

"Yes, please." She managed to answer past the lump in her throat. Following the nurse, Ziva tried to regain her composure. Stopping in front of the correct door, the nurse motioned Ziva inside and then left her alone.

Worry at seeing him, gnawed at her stomach. She stepped into the hospital room and forced her eyes to Tony. A gasp escaped her clenched lips and a sob worked its way from her.

Tony lay perfectly still with dark circles surrounding his sunken, closed eyes. His normal joking demeanor that animated his features had vanished replaced by a somber looking face. His skin was ghostly pale and he looked smaller beneath the thin hospital sheets. Machines beeped and hummed connected to his body to keep him alive.

Standing just inside the doorway, Ziva leaned against the wall as emotion crumpled her normally stoic behavior. She had chosen to trust Rivkin over the man she had been working beside for four years. The man that was loyal to his co-workers and to her, his partner. She had picked Rivkin, a man that she hardly knew anymore.

Tears traced rivers down her face and the sobs shook her body, she slid to the ground. Never had she felt as vulnerable and weak as now. Sitting with he knees drawn to her chin, Ziva cried as she kept an eye on Tony, who lay silently.

Nearly ten minutes later, Ziva had not moved afraid that if she tried to stand she would fall. The door squeaked as it was pushed open and Ziva warily jerked to see who it was. Gibbs stood in the doorway taking in Tony's critical condition in one glance. Then he turned his gaze to Ziva.

Upon seeing his own sorrow, Ziva felt fresh tears trickle from her eyes. She had caused pain not only for Tony, but for the whole team.

Gibbs moved toward Ziva's fragile body and offered his hand for her to stand. She took it and he helped pull her up. He pulled her into his arms hugging her close and kissed her hair in fatherly comfort, "Crying won't help."

Nodding Ziva pulled back, "It is my fault he is here Gibbs. I should not have trusted Rivkin and I should have told Tony everything. Maybe then none of this would have happened," her words were whispered.

"Yeah, you messed up, but now we have to fix it so pull yourself together and let's figure this out for Tony," Gibbs looked sternly at Ziva conveying a source of strength.

Meeting his eyes, Ziva spoke her voice steady this time, "Rivkin may have been under orders to hurt Tony and I am not sure about his involvement with terrorist, Tabal. However, I am certain he is not as clean as my father thinks him."

Gibbs responded to her quick assessment, "We need to find out. Tony knew something more or had a gut feeling about this and we need to find out what it was."

Taking a breath, Ziva decided what she needed to do, "I request that I be sent with Rivkin to Tel Aviv. I will escort him as harming a federal agent. I will find out what is going on whether or not my father cooperates. I trust Tony and am responsible for what has happened to him. I will find out what is going on and deal with Rivkin."

Recognizing her determination to avenge Tony's injuries, Gibbs answered, "Alright but let me deal with Vance. You will be escorting Rivkin under NCIS custody. Don't let him or anyone for that matter discover that you are operating an investigation."

Ziva agreed and Gibbs added, "I'll call in an hour with instructions." With that he left to confront Vance with the plan.

Turning to look again at Tony, Ziva took a deep breath. She had to find out what was really going on for him. He had known something wasn't right and she had not trusted him. Now she had to learn what Tony had and fill in the blanks.

She moved to stand by his bedside taking his hand in hers. Ziva stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, "I am so sorry, Tony." Her voice caught when she said his name and tears threatened to break the surface. "So sorry."

"I will get revenge for you that is a promise and I will make this up to you," Ziva trembled with her words and sunk into a chair holding Tony's hand while she spoke her thoughts aloud to him.

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	4. Chapter 4

**I am so terribly sorry it took me so long to update! I will try to do better. I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to at least let you all know that I haven't forgotten about it. I am excited about my ideas for this story, I just have to figure out how to get there!**

**Please REVIEW! It helps motivate me!**

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Ziva hadn't moved in the hour of waiting for further instructions from Gibbs. When her cell phone chimed, she stood from her chair keeping Tony's hand in hers and answered, "Gibbs."

"Pack your bag, you leave at one in the morning for safety cuz we don't know who Rivkin is working with. Your flight is a secret. " Gibbs cleared his throat and continued, "How is he?"

Ziva clenched her jaw, "He has not changed." After finishing her conversation with Gibbs, Ziva stood looking down at Tony. Her eyes glinted, helplessness had been replaced with determination. Giving his hand one last squeeze, Ziva spoke softly, "This is not good-bye because I will be back and you will recover to take your place as my partner."

She set his hand gently on the bed and walked to the door. Pausing, she rested her hand on the door handle and let her eyes memorize Tony's every feature, except she remembered him as his lively, handsome self instead of the man laying before her.

Then she turned and walked from the room. No longer were her steps weak and broken, no Gibbs was right that would not solve anything. Her steps were strong and with purpose.

Once at her apartment, she ducked beneath the crime scene tape flashing her badge and the agent stationed there. As she gathered her things Hadar called, "Shalom."

Words flew from the Mossad Agent in a steady stream of anger and confusion, "Ziva, what is going on? The operative that went to extract Rivkin could not gain access to your apartment due to federal agents and police crawling all over it! Where did Rivkin go? Are you alright? I was not able to raise you on your phone until now."

"Rivkin fought my partner. My apartment is the crime scene. I will be escorting Rivkin back to Israel for assaulting a federal agent and I assume my father will see to his punishment," Ziva held her breath waiting for Hadar's reaction.

"Was your partner killed?" Hadar asked with true sincerity.

Ziva did not expect this, "No, why do you care?" Never would she trust anyone freely again except her family at NCIS, all others had lied to her.

Hadar snorted, "We are all fighting the same bad guys correct? It would be a shame to lose a capable asset."

"Well, yes. I will see you when I arrive," Ziva finished packing and sped back to the hospital. Gibbs was waiting in the dimly lit parking lot. Rivkin was stowed in the back seat of the charger. Ziva smirked at Gibbs, "How did you get him past the nurses?"

"They were happy to see him go," Gibbs smirked back and asked, "Ready?"

Ziva nodded curtly and they rode in silence until Rivkin snickered from the back, "Has Agent Meatball succumbed to death?"

Gibbs whipped not so subtly into another lane and Ziva whirled in her seat, "Who are you referring to?"

Michael curled his lips up, "I think you know."

"Agent DiNozzo is," Ziva was cut off my Gibbs.

"Dead. You killed him. Does that make you happy?" Gibbs yelled as he pulled onto a dark runway.

Dipping his head, Rivkin smiled, "It does."

Ziva slammed out of the car before she could kill the scumbag right there. Gibbs yanked him from the car, "When did you nickname my agent?"

"Today, when he told me to leave the country," Rivkin looked over at Ziva, "at lunch. When Ziva had been called back to work, Tony warned me to leave Ziva and the country."

"Shoulda listened," Gibbs twisted Rivkin's arms behind him and cuffed him despite the wound in his side.

Ziva made eye contact with Gibbs and he asked, "Ya ready?"

"Very," Ziva pushed Rivkin into the plan and secured him into his seat across from her on the cargo plane. She went to the edge of the plane and whispered to Gibbs, "Update me on Tony."

Gibbs nodded, "Update me on Rivkin."

Settling into her seat, Ziva glared at Rivkin, "Why did Tony warn you to leave the country and then come to my apartment?"

"Isn't it obvious? Oh Ziva, how oblivious you really are! Tony was jealous of our relationship. After he got me out of the picture, Tony was hoping to find you in a vulnerable state and comfort you with tea and himself," Rivkin kept his smug smile in place.

Ziva laughed, "Clearly, you did not know Tony. Unlike you, he would respect my space and never drink tea. He was a coffee sort of guy." Ziva smiled fondly remembering Tony's Gibbs like habit with coffee. She felt like a traitor talking as if Tony was actually dead, but it satisfied Rivkin and gave him misplaced cockiness.

Rivkin frowned, "Was that emotion I saw in your eyes? Did you care for this Italian agent?"

"It does matter," Ziva swallowed unsure how she should respond.

Eyes widening, Rivkin said, "You loved him? Then why were you seeing me?"

"Tony and I had uh… special relationship, but we were just partners," Ziva shook her head, "No more questions. You need to conserve your energy for what is in…" she stopped and emotion again clogged her throat. She could not remember the saying and Tony could not correct her definite confusion, "Israel for you."

Rivkin narrowed his eyes, "We will see."


End file.
